Letters To The Editor: Candidates have until Tuesday to wash up

Posted: Friday, February 13, 2004

Opinion

We, the constituents of District 31, have observed numerous mudballs thrown by candidates Kel Seliger and Kirk Edwards. Some, such as the Planned Parenthood issue, have no immediate relevance. This is at the bottom of my list of concerns. District 31 faces crucial issues which must be addressed.

Another mudball concerns lawsuits filed against Edwards' oil and gas companies. I worked for such a company for years. One cannot make judgments concerning these lawsuits without knowing the particulars.

And what do they have to do with District 31?

All this mudslinging does a huge disservice to constituents. We are facing critical problems, such as school finance.

Are the candidates hiding behind the mud so they do not have to admit they have no answers to these pressing issues?

Candidates, I challenge you to give specifics on where we are going to get the money to fund our children's education. If you do not know, admit it. We understand it is a complex issue, and we respect honesty and forthrightness.

I hope Seliger and Edwards have no mud on their hands come Election Day. They are our only two choices. We can't write in a candidate or select "none of the above."

Gentlemen, your time is short. We will be listening.

C.W. Taylor

Amarillo

Stop the negative campaigning

Grab your boots, boys - looks like we're knee-deep in mud again.

Ever wonder why so many political candidates spend so much money on negative campaign advertisements? Of course, they justify it by saying that they are only discussing the opponent's "record."

Just out of morbid curiosity, where does this so-called record end? Lately, once they are through running down their opponent, they drag in that person's family and neighbors, too.

It's worse than a bad marriage.

Here's a challenge to the future candidates running for the various offices: Stick to the issues, tell us what you stand for and your personal record.

And if you claim to be a Christian, act like it. If you're not a Christian, at least make the voter feel good about having voted for you. Most of the time, I come away from the polls just feeling like I've voted for the lesser of two evils.

Find a better way to spend your campaign funds than negative advertising. Stick to the issues, and if the money is still burning a hole in your pocket, donate it to a local charity or family in need.

Here's to a little mud in your eye. May the best candidate win.

Alexis Bookout

Amarillo

Close closet door on skeletons

People claim to hate dirty politics, but they keep eating it up.

I keep reading all of these letters to the editor about Kel Seliger and accusations about his past involvement with Planned Parenthood and Bill Clinton. I was not there and I have no idea whether they are accurate or not, but even if they are, these incidents were in the past. Mr. Seliger is clearly a pro-life Republican now.

I would be willing to bet that Kirk Edwards has a few interesting facts in his closet, too. It may just be that Mr. Seliger has not chosen to use push-polling and other such tactics to expose them.

It all comes down to two facts: Things are always blown way out of proportion during elections, and the Panhandle will suffer if our state senator is from the Permian Basin rather than the Panhandle.

We are but a small delegation in Austin as it is. If you ship our influence south based on what some candidate has said happened a decade ago, it is the citizens of the Panhandle who are going to lose.

Prairie Burgess

Canyon

District 31 choices don't cut itP>

Can we please start this 31st District race over?

I am so tired of watching these two dopes slap each other every day in the media.

If this is the cream rising to the top of this race, we are in a lot of trouble. Maybe by the general election, someone like Don Sparks will try it again.

The choice between these two is looking more and more like no choice at all.